Döbelns park is in central
Umeå in northern
Sweden
Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...
. It is the oldest park in Umeå, created in 1865. It is named after the General
Georg Carl von Döbeln
Georg Carl von Döbeln (29 April 1758 – 16 February 1820) was a Swedish ''friherre'' (baron), Lieutenant general and above all known for his efforts on the Swedish side during the Finnish War.
Early life
Georg Carl was born at the Stora Tor ...
, and his monument was placed in the park in 1867. This park should not be confused with "Döbelns plan" which is a smaller communal area elsewhere further west in the city.
[Döbelns plan]
umea.se, retrieved 27 May 2014
Description
Preparations for the park started in 1865 and the plans were for an English-style garden on the south side of the
Ume River
The Ume River (Swedish: ''Ume älv'' or ''Umeälven'') is one of the main rivers in northern Sweden. It is around long, and flows in a south-eastern direction from its source, the lake ''Överuman'' by the Norway, Norwegian border within the Scand ...
. The land was donated by the recently appointed
Governor of Västerbotten Erik Viktor Almquist
Erik Viktor Almquist (7 March 1817 – 13 December 1872) was a Swedish politician. He was governor of the northern Swedish county of Vasterbotten. He improved Sami rights and brought forward legislation regarding forestry management.
Life
Almqui ...
to create a common space for the town's residents. Winding gravel paths, arbours, viewpoints and flower beds were created.
The park was placed between the streets of
Östra Kyrkogatan,
Storgatan and
Östra Strandgatan.
The park was named as Stadsträdgården, but after the Döbeln monument was unveiled in 1867, the park was popularly known as Döbelns Park. In 1888 the
Umeå city fire
The Great Fire of Umeå took place in 1888 and destroyed most of the city of Umeå in Sweden. The unusual windy weather conditions also contributed to two other fires on the same day in Sweden. Umeå took the opportunity to complete its plans to ...
destroyed or damaged most of the park's shrubs and trees. The Döbeln monument was not damaged and in 1897 a major restoration project was started to restore the park.
References
Parks in Umeå
Landmarks in Sweden
{{Västerbotten-geo-stub